Top shelf portable closet



March l8, 1941 H. DERMAN TOP SHELF PORTABLE CLOSET Filed July l4,- 1939INVENTOR HA RRYDERMAN I ATTORN Patented Mar. '18, 194i orrics 2,235,574'ror SHELF PORTABLE CLOSET Harry Der-man, Laurelton, Long Island, N. Y.Application July 14, 1939, Serial No. 284,419

4 Claims.

This invention relates to knockdown closets which by virtue of thestructure thereof will represent as near as possible a conventionalcloset structure as is commonly employed in the homes or dwellings forthesupport of garments, hats, and other articles of apparel, and theobject of the invention is to provide a knockdown or collapsible closetstructure with means at the upper end portion thereof for supporting atransverse shelf in spaced relation to the top of the closet to form inthe top of the closet a chamber for supporting hats and other articlesof apparel or of merchandise; a further object being to provide inconjunction with the shelf supporting means a garment hanger fortransversely bracing the cabinet where the shelf is arranged therein inaddition to providing means for hanging garments within the closet belowsaid shelf, and with these and other objects in view the inventionconsists in a closet of the class and for the purpose specified which issimple in construction, efiicient in use, and which is constructed ashereinafter described and claimed.

The invention is fully disclosed in the following specification,of-which the accompanying drawing forms a part, in which the severalparts of my invention are designated by suitable reference characters ineach of the views, and in which:

Fig. 1 is a front view of the closet made according to my inventionshowing a door thereof in open position.

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view of the upper end portion of thecloset, the section being on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a partial section on the line 3--3 of Fig.2 on an enlargedscale, and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of oneof the shelves and garment hangersupport cleats which .I employ.

It is the primary purpose of my invention to provide a collapsibleknockdown closet structure which aside from the use of a flexiblesliding door at the front door frame portion of the closet willrepresent a replica of a more or less conventional built-in closetconstruction as commonly. employed in the home' for the storage andhanging of various kinds and classes of articles of apparel includinghats, shoes and the like. It is the further purpose of my invention toprovide what might be termed a port- 1 able closet which may be readilyset up in any room of the home for the convenient hanging of garments ofapparel and for the placing of hats and other articles to accommodateguests visiting the home for an evening or for a weekend therebyproviding a practical and useful article of merchandise for satisfying amuch needed want in the home. In fact, by reason of the economy in theconstruction of the closet the average home could afford to use two orthree of these cabinets in conveniently storing away garments inaccommodating a large number of people still maintaining the garments ina neat and pressed condition as will be apparent. My improved cabinetalso provides an extra closet for rooms where limited closet space isprovided and-in fact in various camps and other public dwelling placeswhere sufficient closet. space is not available and especially inovernight camps and other places of this type and kind.

It will of course be apparent that my improved structure is adapted foruse in conjunction with collapsible wall parts of various t'ypes ofconstruction and utilizing different types of door closures. Forpurposes of illustrating one adaptation of my invention, however, I haveshown in the accompanying drawing a closet comprising a unitary sheetill of foldable material forming vertical wall portions of the cabinetincluding a rear wall ll, side walls i2, Ma and 2 of the drawing),having peripheral reenforcing flanges ll, Ila formed of wood or othersuitable material.

The top wall [4 of the cabinet, supports, by I means of'suitablebrackets la, a roller IQ for supporting a flexible closure member 20 asseen in Fig. 1 of the drawing. The closure member 20 is of less widththan the width of the cabinet providing for the slidable arrangement ofsaid member in longitudinal grooves 2| formed invertical rails 22, 22aand secured to the opposed free edges of the front wall panel membersl3,

I311. The free end of the closure member 20 is provided with areenforcing rail 23 having means closely and slidably engaging thegrooves 2| in v the rails 22, 22a.

' The closure member 20 may be of any desired length to control theopening of the entire central portion ofthe front wall of the cabinet ordesired part thereof. Forpurposes of illustration, however, the closuremember 20 has been illustrated as adapted to extend only part way to thebottom of the cabinet, the lower portion of the cabinet being providedwith an independent closure member 24 slidably arranged in the grooves21 of the rails 22, 22a. The closure member 24 comprises a panel 25 ofsheet material having an upper reenforcing rail 25 and a lowerreenforcing rail 21 secured thereto and slidably engaging the grooves 2|as previously described in connection with the rail 23.

The rail 23 and the rail 23 are provided with suitable coupling means23, 280 while the rail 21 and the reenforcing flaige Ila of the bottomwall of the cabinet are a so provided with cooperating coupling members29, 23a. It will be apparent that the front wall of the cabinet may becompletely closed when the coupling means 28, 28a and 29, 29a are inengagement, and it will further be apparent that the closure means maybe operated to selectively open predetermined portions of the front wallby disengaging either or both of the coupling means.

The upper portion of the cabinet is provided in spaced relation to thetopwall i4 thereof with a shelf 30 comprising a sheet 31 of thinmaterial reenforced at the front and rear edges thereof a withtransverse strips 32, 32a respectively of wood or other suitablematerial. The shelf 30 is detachably supported within the cabinet bycleats 33 riveted or otherwise secured to the side walls in abuttingrelation therewith by suitable means as indicated at 33a in Figs. 2 and3 of the drawing. The cleats 33 are preferably notched at the endsthereof, (see 34 in Fig. 4 of the drawing), to receive the reenforcingstrips 32, 32a, it being apparent that the cleats 33 are of suificientwidth to insure support of the strips 32, 32a as well as side edges ofthe sheet 3| throughout the length thereof. The inner side surface ofeach cleat 33, or in other words-the surface exposed within the cabinet,is preferably smooth throughout the length thereof while the outersurface 35 is provided intermediate the ends thereof with a verticallyarranged channel or groove 36 providing a clearance between the wall I2of the cabinet and the cleat 33. The channel 36 and the clearance formedthereby provides for the arrangement of a hanger bracket 31 on the cleat33, the bracket being preferably constructed of thin sheetmetal.Anothersimilar bracket is employed in conjunction with the, opposedcleat, and the brackets are provided with pivoted hanger arms 38 towhich is attached a suitable hanger rod 39. The brackets 31 togetherwith the arms 38 and the rod 39 form a hanger unit freely detachablewith respect to the cabinet. The hanger unit may also include means asindicated by the tube 66 for retaining predetermined scenting or mothkilling materials and the like.

The removable shelf 30 when arranged on the cleats 33 will besubstantially level, the center portion of the sheet 34 being heldslightly above I the cleats at the central portion thereof by thebrackets 31. It will be apparent, however, that in producing a morefinished and expensive closet or cabinet suitable recesses could beprovided in the'upper edges of the cleats 33 to dispose the brackets 31in alinement therewith.

It will be apparent that my improved cabinet which may properly betermed a wardrobe or closet provides, in a single light weight andcollapsible unit, combined storage space particularly adapted for thestorage of hats, dresses, coats or similar apparel, and shoes or otherfootwear. It will further be apparent that the selec-, tively operableclosure means provides for the ment compartments, while detaching onlythe' coupling 29, 2911 will make accessible the garment and footwearcompartment. 0n the other hand, if both couplings are unlatched the hatand garment compartments will be normally accessible and the footwearcompartmentcabinet may be readily reached by manually raising the lowerclosure member 24.

It will be apparent that the hanger unit forms a transverse bracetending to maintain the shelf supporting cleats 33 in proper spacedrelation to insure engagement of the shelf therewith.

The inexpensive sheet material employed in the various wall portions ofthe device is preferably corrugated board or fibrous board. It will,however, be understood that other suitable materials may be used whichwill provide the desired light weight knockdown construction.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure b'yLetters Patent, is:

1. A knockdown cabinet of the character described comprising a foldableback and side wall member and independent top and bottom wall parts,vertical rails on opposed edges of said wall member, and transverserails on said top and bottom wall parts forming a door frame for saidcabinet, saidvertical rails having channels adapted for the support ofslidable closure means for said door frame, inner opposed surfaces ofthe side walls of the cabinet having in spaced relation to the upperends thereof elongated shelf supporting members, means on said membersproviding for the detachable support of a garment hanger unit, othermeans on said members and saidshelf for keying the shelf againstaccidental displacement, said shelf dividing said cabinet into an upperhat receiving compartment and a lower garment receiving compartment, thebottom of said last named compartadapted for the support of slidableclosure means for said door frame, inner opposed surfaces of the sidewalls of the cabinet having in spaced relation to the upper ends thereofelongated shelf supporting members, a shelf detachable with respect tosaid members, means on said members detachably supporting a garmenthanger unit in connection therewith, said hanger unit including atransverse hanger supporting rod and a transverse tube above said rodadapted for the support of volatile materials, said tube and rod formingof said hanger unit a transverse brace coupling said shelf supportingmembers.

, 3. In a knockdown closet of the character described comprisingdetachably coupled parts, one of said parts comprising collapsiblyrelated rear and side walls of the closet, elongated strips per manentlysecured to'inner opposed surfaces of the side walls in spaced relationto the upper ends thereof and collapsible with said walls, a shelf, agarment hanger supporting unit for arrangement within said walls of thecabinet, means on said strips, said shelf and unit for detachablysupporting the shelf and unit'on said strips and to extend between saidside walls, said supporting strips extending substantially the fulldepth of the side walls, and the means coupling the shelf with thestrips comprising notched upper ends on the strips, and front and rearflanges on the shelf engaging the notched ends of the strip to retainthe shelf against displacement in the closet.

scribed comprising detachably coupled parts, one

of said parts comprising collapsibly related rear and side walls of thecloset, elongated strips per manently secured to inner opposed surfacesof the side walls in spaced relation to the upper ends thereof andcollapsible with said walls, a shelf,

a garment hanger supporting unit for arrangement within said walls ofthe cabinet, means on said strips, said shelf and unit for detachablysupporting the shelf and unit on said strips and to extend between saidside walls, and the means coupling the hanger unit with said stripscomprising hook-shaped brackets on the unit engaging central recessedportions in said strips.

HARRY DERMAN.

